Eleanor Audley was an American actress with a distinctive voice, which led to her successful career as a voice actress in radio and animation. She is primarily remembered for being the first actress to voice Lady Tremaine and Maleficent, two of the most iconic Disney villains.
Born Eleanor Zellman in New York City, Audley was Jewish, but little is known about her family background. She never married and her early life was marked by her passion for acting.
Audley made her Broadway debut in 1926 at the age of 20 in the production of "Howdy, King". Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, she remained primarily a theatrical actress. However, during the 1940s, she began to take on prominent roles in radio serials.
In the 1940s, Audley played notable roles in radio serials such as mother-in-law Leticia Cooper in "My Favorite Husband", receptionist Molly Byrd in "The Story of Dr. Kildare", and neighbor Elizabeth Smith in "Father Knows Best".
Audley was hired by Disney to voice the role of wealthy widow Lady Tremaine in the animated feature film "Cinderella" (1950). She was also used as the live-action model for the character, and her facial features were used by the animators who designed the character.
In the film, Lady Tremaine is depicted as the abusive stepmother of Cinderella and the domineering mother of Anastasia Tremaine and Drizella Tremaine. The film was a box office hit, and its profits helped rescue the Disney studio from a financial decline that had lasted for almost a decade.
For the rest of the decade, Audley appeared regularly in supporting roles in film and guest roles in television. She returned to animation when hired to voice the evil fairy Maleficent in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959). As before, Audley was also used as a live-action model for the character.
During the production of "Sleeping Beauty", Audley was struggling with tuberculosis. While nominally the villain, Maleficent received more screen-time in the finished film than the titular protagonist Princess Aurora.
Audley worked with Disney again to voice psychic medium Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion attractions in Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Leota is depicted as a ghost who communicates with the living, and other actresses have since voiced the character.
Audley's long career ended prematurely in the 1970s due to increasingly poor health. She lived in retirement until her death in 1991 at the age of 86.
